Kalamazoo Valley Community College positions itself as a leader in alternative energy

Mark Bugnaski | Kalamazoo GazetteMach 282 students, left to right, Raymond Gabriel-Ojo, Timothy Short, Matthew Mavis and Hether Frayer work with other students in an assembly line to manufacture cross sections of the helical sails from foam insulation boards. Using a jig designed and made by class, precise foam sections are cut out to be glued together.

TEXAS TOWNSHIP — When Kalamazoo Valley Community College officials decided three years ago to embrace wind energy as a new training opportunity for students, it wasn’t a token foray.

“One of the things we do want to do is drive the sustainable-energy agenda in education,” James DeHaven, the college’s vice president for economic and business development, said in 2008.

The college has since launched a 26-week academy and a one-year certificate program to train technicians.